The story goes… from a fictional village in an unspecified African country, young James, a Christian idealist, is chosen to undertake a mission – a pilgrimage to holy Jerusalem, to learn as much as he can, and ultimately return to his hometown to teach others.
James is baggaged with biblical Utopian ideas of what Jerusalem is like, but quickly discovers that all isn’t as he thought it would be, from the moment he sets foot in Israel. It’s no longer the “Holy Land” that James and his people have long imagined.
When he’s suspected of trying to infiltrate the country to work illegally, James’s journey takes him through the darker sides of Israeli socio-economic life, with respect to immigrants, as he adjusts, learning what it takes to survive and progress, and plays his cards toward an inevitable end.
Briefly… A small charmer of a film, although somewhat unrealistic.
James is baggaged with biblical Utopian ideas of what Jerusalem is like, but quickly discovers that all isn’t as he thought it would be, from the moment he sets foot in Israel. It’s no longer the “Holy Land” that James and his people have long imagined.
When he’s suspected of trying to infiltrate the country to work illegally, James’s journey takes him through the darker sides of Israeli socio-economic life, with respect to immigrants, as he adjusts, learning what it takes to survive and progress, and plays his cards toward an inevitable end.
Briefly… A small charmer of a film, although somewhat unrealistic.
- 3/12/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Zeitgeist Films
This debut feature from the acclaimed Israeli documentary filmmaker Ra'anan Alexandrowicz ("The Inner Tour") is a charming, fable-like tale of a young African villager and his disillusionment upon arriving at the Holy Land. Although occasionally a little too obvious in its storytelling, "James' Journey to Jerusalem" is a morality tale that transcends its specific details to resonate with a universality. The film is receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum.
James Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) is a young Christian who has made a pilgrimage from his African village to Israel. The response to his arrival is not what he expected, however, as he is immediately jailed by immigration authorities. He is promptly bailed out by someone he thinks is a kindhearted stranger, only to wind up in a form of servitude. He becomes part of a team of Third World cleaning and construction workers managed by Shimi (Salimn Daw), an unscrupulous businessman who pays them menial wages while holding their passports hostage.
Despite his wide-eyed innocence, the determined James, with the encouragement of Shimi's elderly father, Sallah (Arie Elias), soon gets the lay of the land. Determined not to be a "frayer," or sucker, the enterprising and resilient James, dazzled by the relative wealth surrounding him, eventually manages to transcend his lowly status and become a mini-entrepreneur himself, managing his own team of workers. In the meantime, needless to say, his dreams of achieving religious transcendence in Jerusalem fall by the wayside.
While the film occasionally stretches credibility and is also rather schematic in its characterizations, it tells its tale with skill and economy, and its observations about consumerist Israeli society are critically insightful without being overdone. What could have lapsed into broadly played melodrama is instead rendered artfully and entertainingly. Aiding matters greatly is the charming lead performance by Shibe, who delineates his character's transformation subtly and all too convincingly.
This debut feature from the acclaimed Israeli documentary filmmaker Ra'anan Alexandrowicz ("The Inner Tour") is a charming, fable-like tale of a young African villager and his disillusionment upon arriving at the Holy Land. Although occasionally a little too obvious in its storytelling, "James' Journey to Jerusalem" is a morality tale that transcends its specific details to resonate with a universality. The film is receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum.
James Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) is a young Christian who has made a pilgrimage from his African village to Israel. The response to his arrival is not what he expected, however, as he is immediately jailed by immigration authorities. He is promptly bailed out by someone he thinks is a kindhearted stranger, only to wind up in a form of servitude. He becomes part of a team of Third World cleaning and construction workers managed by Shimi (Salimn Daw), an unscrupulous businessman who pays them menial wages while holding their passports hostage.
Despite his wide-eyed innocence, the determined James, with the encouragement of Shimi's elderly father, Sallah (Arie Elias), soon gets the lay of the land. Determined not to be a "frayer," or sucker, the enterprising and resilient James, dazzled by the relative wealth surrounding him, eventually manages to transcend his lowly status and become a mini-entrepreneur himself, managing his own team of workers. In the meantime, needless to say, his dreams of achieving religious transcendence in Jerusalem fall by the wayside.
While the film occasionally stretches credibility and is also rather schematic in its characterizations, it tells its tale with skill and economy, and its observations about consumerist Israeli society are critically insightful without being overdone. What could have lapsed into broadly played melodrama is instead rendered artfully and entertainingly. Aiding matters greatly is the charming lead performance by Shibe, who delineates his character's transformation subtly and all too convincingly.
Zeitgeist Films
This debut feature from the acclaimed Israeli documentary filmmaker Ra'anan Alexandrowicz ("The Inner Tour") is a charming, fable-like tale of a young African villager and his disillusionment upon arriving at the Holy Land. Although occasionally a little too obvious in its storytelling, "James' Journey to Jerusalem" is a morality tale that transcends its specific details to resonate with a universality. The film is receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum.
James Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) is a young Christian who has made a pilgrimage from his African village to Israel. The response to his arrival is not what he expected, however, as he is immediately jailed by immigration authorities. He is promptly bailed out by someone he thinks is a kindhearted stranger, only to wind up in a form of servitude. He becomes part of a team of Third World cleaning and construction workers managed by Shimi (Salimn Daw), an unscrupulous businessman who pays them menial wages while holding their passports hostage.
Despite his wide-eyed innocence, the determined James, with the encouragement of Shimi's elderly father, Sallah (Arie Elias), soon gets the lay of the land. Determined not to be a "frayer," or sucker, the enterprising and resilient James, dazzled by the relative wealth surrounding him, eventually manages to transcend his lowly status and become a mini-entrepreneur himself, managing his own team of workers. In the meantime, needless to say, his dreams of achieving religious transcendence in Jerusalem fall by the wayside.
While the film occasionally stretches credibility and is also rather schematic in its characterizations, it tells its tale with skill and economy, and its observations about consumerist Israeli society are critically insightful without being overdone. What could have lapsed into broadly played melodrama is instead rendered artfully and entertainingly. Aiding matters greatly is the charming lead performance by Shibe, who delineates his character's transformation subtly and all too convincingly.
This debut feature from the acclaimed Israeli documentary filmmaker Ra'anan Alexandrowicz ("The Inner Tour") is a charming, fable-like tale of a young African villager and his disillusionment upon arriving at the Holy Land. Although occasionally a little too obvious in its storytelling, "James' Journey to Jerusalem" is a morality tale that transcends its specific details to resonate with a universality. The film is receiving its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum.
James Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) is a young Christian who has made a pilgrimage from his African village to Israel. The response to his arrival is not what he expected, however, as he is immediately jailed by immigration authorities. He is promptly bailed out by someone he thinks is a kindhearted stranger, only to wind up in a form of servitude. He becomes part of a team of Third World cleaning and construction workers managed by Shimi (Salimn Daw), an unscrupulous businessman who pays them menial wages while holding their passports hostage.
Despite his wide-eyed innocence, the determined James, with the encouragement of Shimi's elderly father, Sallah (Arie Elias), soon gets the lay of the land. Determined not to be a "frayer," or sucker, the enterprising and resilient James, dazzled by the relative wealth surrounding him, eventually manages to transcend his lowly status and become a mini-entrepreneur himself, managing his own team of workers. In the meantime, needless to say, his dreams of achieving religious transcendence in Jerusalem fall by the wayside.
While the film occasionally stretches credibility and is also rather schematic in its characterizations, it tells its tale with skill and economy, and its observations about consumerist Israeli society are critically insightful without being overdone. What could have lapsed into broadly played melodrama is instead rendered artfully and entertainingly. Aiding matters greatly is the charming lead performance by Shibe, who delineates his character's transformation subtly and all too convincingly.
- 3/15/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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